Written by Brian Minter
That’s right. Thanks to everyone who donated to First Book over the holiday season – and thanks to a generous matching offer from our friends at Disney – First Book was able to provide 213,802 brand-new, high-quality books to schools and programs serving children from low-income families across the country.
Thanks to all our supporters who helped make this happen!
Written by Gina Rullo
Hurricane Sandy caused much devastation to the East Coast. Families lost their homes, buildings were heavily damaged and countless children, families and schools lost libraries full of books.
The students at Union Elementary School in Farmington, CT, decided to take action.
Some Union Elementary students came across First Book’s initiative to raise money to provide new books to children affected by Hurricane Sandy. They wanted to contribute to First Book’s effort, so they collected loose change for a month.
Mrs. Banta, the school’s main office clerk, hauled a big bucket of change to Farmington Savings Bank, and got a check for more than $400, enough to provide 160 brand-new books to children affected by Hurricane Sandy.
“The leadership, staff, teachers, students and families of Union School strongly share First Book’s belief that books are among the critical resources that children need every day, and we were so pleased with the strong response we received from everyone in collecting change to turn into dollars, then a check, then lots of books for kids,” said Jessica Lister, a Union Elementary School mom and publicity co-chair of the PTO.
Although the storm has passed, families and children are still living in shelters and have lost many of their personal belongings. You can help just as the kids at Union Elementary did, by clicking here. Every $2.50 you contribute will provide a new book to a child affected by the storm.
Written by Brian Minter
Together, we’ve put over 100 million new books into the hands of children who need them, and we’re counting on your support this holiday season. This year, thanks to our friends at Disney, the impact of your gift will be tripled!
Every $2.50 donated to First Book provides one brand-new, high-quality book for a child from a low-income family. And Disney has agreed to match every one of those books with two additional books, from now through the end of the year. Click here to donate.
As always, when you donate to First Book, you can be sure your money is being used wisely; 97% of donations to First Book go directly to provide new, high-quality books to kids in need. (That’s how we won our four-star rating from Charity Navigator.)
Thanks for being part of our work, and happy holidays from everyone at First Book!
Written by Gina Rullo
Today’s guest blog post is an excerpt from avid reader Jacquelyn Adams. She is currently in medical school where she is pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor. Education has always been an important issue for Jacquelyn. She lends her support to this issue by raising money for First Book through a virtual book drive she created to share her love of reading.
Reading has been an enormous part of my life for as long as I can remember. I used to get sent to the principal’s office in third grade for leaving my desk to hide in the corner of the room and finish my latest Box Car Children Mystery. Without the novels of my childhood, I have no idea what my life would be like. I grew up in a world of stories, adventures, romances, and mythical creatures. It is why I am who I am today.
Last semester, I heard a story that brought me to tears. One of the surgeons I was shadowing was talking about a story he saw online. It was about a program called First Book that had come to southern West Virginia and was helping provide books to children in need. He said that over half of the middle schoolers in that area had never owned their own book. I was blown away.
By seventh grade, I had multiple bookshelves filled to the brim and more overdue library books than a thesis student. How could a seventh grader not far from my front door not own a single book? I asked him as much, and he said “That is why you are in medical school and they are struggling to graduate high school.”
Every time I think about this conversation, I feel guilt and determination. Every child deserves the joy of reading. Every child deserves the chance to live in a world of stories, adventures, romances, and mythical creatures. Every child deserves his or her own first book. That is why I am starting this fundraising page. I hope you all can help, and I hope you will choose to get involved with First Book.
Jacquelyn aimed to raise $200 through a virtual book drive and has already succeeded in reaching her goal. Just like Jacquelyn, you or anyone you know can create a virtual book drive to support First Book in an effort to get books to children in need.
Written by Brian Minter
The thing that I like about First Book is that kids can have their own books in their own houses that their parents can read to them, and, later, that they can read themselves.
– Jane Greene, First Book supporter
Jane Greene is a longtime supporter of First Book. She isn’t a wealthy philanthropist, but she is the kind of person that all good causes look for – a dedicated, constant cultivator of people and projects she believes in. She’s also someone who understands the importance of helping kids in need have new books to read.
“I always send books as baby gifts,” Greene said. “The value of reading and owning books has been in my life always.”
Greene works at a nonprofit as well, the Mental Health Association of Montgomery County in Maryland. (Two of the agency’s programs – Kensington Wheaton Youth Services and Bridges to Pals – actually work with First Book to get new books for their kids, although Greene actually found out about First Book during a promotional campaign with Borders bookstore.)
“The thing that I like about First Book is that kids can have their own books in their own houses that their parents can read to them, and, later, that they can read themselves,” Greene said.
“No gift is too small,” Green added. “I just decided to commemorate special occasions, acts of kindness and holidays by sending a little something to First Book.”
Not only have Greene’s contributions put brand-new books into the hands of kids from low-income families, she typically makes donations in the name of others, many of whom, when they find out about the gift and the work First Book does, go on to become supporters themselves. (It wasn’t easy to get Greene to agree to be profiled. “I was always the one behind the scenes,” she said. “That’s the way I like to influence and educate others.”)
First Book couldn’t do the work that we do without the open-hearted generosity of people like Jane Greene. Thanks, Jane! We’re glad you’re in our corner.
Click here to help get books to kids in need in your community by supporting First Book.
Written by Brian Minter
First Book distributed eight million brand-new books to kids in need this year. That’s a LOT of books, and those books have the power to change a lot of lives.
And, with your help, we want to do even more in the year to come!
Donate now to provide new books to kids in need through First Book
Every $2.50 you donate goes to provide a brand-new book to a kid in need, helping them become a reader and changing their life. And your impact will go even further this year – through Dec. 31, our friends at Disney Publishing Worldwide will match every $1 donated with another new book. Pretty great stuff.
Thanks to all of you for your continued support of First Book and the children who are counting on us.
Written by Brian Minter
If you’re like many of us, you grew up in a home filled with books, and so you understand how important it is for children to get excited about books and become enthusiastic, capable readers.
But there are 30 million kids in the United States who won’t have that chance, because most of them have no books of their own at home. At First Book, we’re working hard to change that, and with your help, we’re making a difference.
Click here to donate now, and help us get more books to more kids.
Every $2.50 you donate goes to provide a brand-new book to a kid in need. And your impact will go even further this year; through Dec. 31, our friends at Disney Publishing Worldwide will match every $1 donated with another new book.
Thank you so much for your continued support of First Book and the children we serve.
Written by Brian Minter
J.A. Konrath, who writes a series of popular thrillers, announced last week that if the electronic version of his book Origin made it into the Top 100 on Amazon’s Kindle store, he’d donate $500 to First Book. Origin cracked the Top 100 easily, and, true to his word, Konrath sent us a check. READ MORE »
